Gold Hovers Near 3-month Peak

Gold prices steadied near a three-month peak. Reuters

Gold prices steadied near a three-month peak on Tuesday, supported by subdued US manufacturing and construction spending, as investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and key jobs data for policy cues.
Spot gold was flat at $2,114.99 per ounce, as of 0740 GMT, hovering around its highest since Dec. 4 of $2119.69 it hit on Monday. US gold futures dipped 0.1% to $2,123.90.
London's gold price benchmark hit a record high of $2,098.05 per troy ounce on Monday.
"This rally in gold was triggered by the softer-than-expected U.S. data and the pullback in real rates... but there has been a general bias to buy dips and a positive underlying investor sentiment towards gold that has also made the market vulnerable to the upside," UBS strategist Joni Teves said.
US manufacturing fell further in February, along with a gradual easing of inflation, while consumer sentiment remained weak.
Fed's Raphael Bostic said on Monday the bank is under no pressure to cut rates urgently, highlighting a "prospering" economy and job market.
Market focus now turns to Powell's two-day congressional testimony on Wednesday and Thursday, in a jobs data-heavy week, as investors seek more clues on the health of the US economy and potential timing of the Fed's rate cuts.
Lower rates boost the appeal of non-yielding bullion.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust's holdings dropped 10% from the previous year as of March 4.
"Even though gold ETFs have continued to sell, the pace of the selling has been reasonably measured, which suggests these are tweaks to the composition of the investor portfolio rather than investors losing faith in gold necessarily," Teves said.
Spot platinum fell 0.6% to $891.95 per ounce, and palladium dropped 1.3% to $947.80, and silver fell 0.3% to $23.83.